Hawaiian Waipi‘o, also called Valley of the Kings valley is located
along the Hamakua Coast on the northeast shore of the Big Island of
Hawaii, the Waipi`o Valley is the largest and most southern of the seven
valleys on the windward side of the Kohala Mountains. The Hamakua coast is a scenic drive through former
sugar cane plantation lands now planted with trees and dotted with small
farms of ginger, papayas and many other flowers and foods. The sugar
cane companies have long restricted access to this pristine area. Recently
purchased by the Bishop Estate, the full impacts of these views are just
now being discovered.

Enveloped on three sides by 2,500-foot- (750-metre-) high cliffs
ribboned with spectacular waterfalls (including Hawaii's most
celebrated waterfalls Hiilawe Falls, which drops more than 1,000 feet [300
meters]), the picturesque valley faces a heavy Pacific surf along the
Hamakua coast, where it is fringed by an impassable reef. These overlooks
are only accessible on horseback, on foot, by 4-wheel drive, or by
mountain bike. Even helicopters are not allowed to get that close to the
rim above the valley floor.

The valley has both historical and cultural importance to the Hawaiian
people. According to oral histories as few as 4000 or as many as 10,000
people lived in Waipi`o during the times before the arrival of Captain
Cook in 1778. Waipi`o was the most fertile and productive valley on the
Big Island of Hawaii.
It was at Waipi`o in 1780 that Kamehameha the Great received his war god
Kukailimoku who proclaimed him the future ruler of the islands.
It was off the coast of Waimanu, near Waipi`o, that Kamehameha engaged
Kahekili, the Lord of the leeward islands, and his half-brother,
Kaeokulani of Kauai, in the first naval battle in Hawaiian history -
Kepuwahaulaula, known as the Battle of the Red-Mouthed Guns. Kamehameha
thus began his conquest of the islands.
Aside from its historical importance, the Waipi`o Valley is a sacred place
for Hawaiians. It was the site of many important heiaus (temples).
The most sacred, Pakaalana, was also the site of one of the island's two
major pu`uhonua or places of refuge, the other being Pu`uhonua O Honaunau